A Nation of Plinkers

By Jeff Johnston, AH Managing Editor

Plink, plink, plink plink, plink. The sound soothes good folks' ears even if muffled by foam plugs. It's the sound of everything we know to be good.

Plink, plink, plink, plink plink, plink. It's the sound of fun on a Sunday after church. Most of us will never compete in the Olympics, but then again plinking isn't an official sport yet. Show us a Winchester 61 or a Ruger Mk II and a good backstop and we'll go for gold until dark or the bottom of the 550-round carton of .22s shows cardboard. Nobody's keepin' score—unless you count friendly wagers on the trickiest shot—and you won't hear any sappy Bob Costas commentary save for the satisfying plink plink, plink plink of lead on aluminum can, lead on plastic and lead on whatever else needs pluggin'. "See that piece of clay pigeon way over there?" Plink. Not anymore!

Plink plink, thud thud, plink is the sound of mostly good shooting. And it's more than merely for giggles. It's fun with a purpose; it's the sound of a good hunter getting better; it's the glorious, ringing sound of success. In contrast, misses are hardly audible, forgotten the instant they thud into dirt. But they are helpful to the astute shooter for aim corrections—and for hearing more gratifying plinks!

Plink plink plink is the sound of freedom. Think the average North Korean can walk out onto his back yard or go to the local Izaak Walton League and send a hundred bullets into an old Coors can as fast as he can pull the trigger? Highly doubtful. Fact is, one reason why our soldiers routinely whip our enemies is because they grow up plinkin'.

Plink plink plink; pause; plink plink plink. Unlike the deer stand we love but occasionally becomes boring and cold, it's mostly all action out here on the sunny plinking field, where the only lulls come when resetting pummeled targets and reloading. Paper targets and a benchrest? Great for zeroing a rifle—and for sapping all the fun out of an otherwise peachy endeavor. Stand up, quit trying to be perfect and just plink. If you miss, you didn't miss by plinkin' much!

Plink plink, plink plink plink "That's how you do it, boy!" Plink plink. It's the sound of our girls and boys learning the fundamentals of shooting and the lessons necessary to become responsible adults and productive Americans. It's learning that even though it only goes plink, it can have permanent consequences.

Plink plink plink, click. It's the alarming sound of running out of ammo. If you don't have more, it's the sound of a gun about to be cleaned and put away until you can go plinkin' again. Remember your New Year's resolution? If it wasn't to plink more this year, it should have been, because plinking is good for your health. So plink away, NRA members, for July is prime plinkin' time, and best of all, everyday is the opener.

Tips to Lay Out Ol' Tom

Fly-down time at dawn

is, quite naturally, assumed by many hunters to be the best time all day to bag a tom. Trouble is, the hen or hens that old fella is visiting at that time of day may not let him off the hook long enough to pay attention to your calls and come anywhere near your setup. But during the peak of the breeding season, those hens are apt to visit their nests by noon. Your best shot at calling him close may come then, when old tom is lonely for attention.

Many times a tom hangs up

not because of an obstacle, but because he's walked far enough toward your call and, having not seen a hen, walks away. Your mistake: setting up too far outside that all-important range and never seeing him. When you call, be sure of a good line of sight through terrain and vegetation, and depending on cover, try to get within 100 yards of him before plopping down.

If you hear a gobbler moving away from you,

don't waste more time and breath trying to call him back. Instead, get up and hustle in a wide circle around him. If you need to hear him for reference, use a locator call. When you feel you are ahead of him, quickly set up and give a series of aggressive yelps with a call you haven't used yet. Many times this "fresh hen" tactic will prove successful.

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Like the fossilized skeletons of its ancestors displayed in the Smithsonian, a 12-foot alligator can be scary even when it's dead—something that Shooting Illustrated's Adam Heggenstaller learned in person during a gator hunt in Florida. Read More »

a new feature package designed for North American outdoor enthusiasts... Read More »

1976

The year that Sumner, Mo., erected a statue of "Maxie" to commemorate being the "Wild Goose Capital of the World."

65 Feet

Maxie sports a 65-foot wingspan while resting on a cinderblock building in a community park.

4

The number of cackling subspecies.

fast fact

What's in a name? A lot if it's ruffed grouse—or, in Latin, Bonasa umbellus. "Bonasa" refers to being "good when roasted" and "umbellas," or "sunshade," refers to the umbrella-like ruff of neck feathers the male raises during its courtship display.